Joe Huskey celebrates 100 years A native of the Caney Creek community of Cocke County and the creator of the "Metrigrid", will celebrate his 100th. birthday on Sunday. Joe Huskey, is a resident of the Life Care Center of Jefferson City, but his early years included schooling in the Edwina community, and he also remembers early cars which had tires with several inches of rubber, unlike today's pneumatic tires. Huskey did a stint of military service before earning his bachelor's degree from Maryville College in 1943. He then graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1953 with his Masters degree in Engineering. Husky went on to work for the City Service Co. before retiring in 1978. Since then he has written 20 articles for various publications, detailing his grid concept. He says he believes his concern with healthy living is the reason he has lived to be 100 years-old. "You have to have mental health, physical health and educational health," he argues, and Huskey goes on to say he believes breathing pollen is bad for one's health. "You only have one set of lungs, so when your lungs go, you are gone for good." And he has advice for those who want to live to be 100. "I would say get on the Internet and study people who are 100." But Husky adds, "God is in charge and he will see that things are done correctly, sooner or later. Things will work out as God plans them." Husky developed the metrigrid concept using a combination of columns and rows, to help children and adults learn more efficiently. He explains his concept as a grid of numbers arranged counter-clockwise rather than in a horizontal pattern. Huskey adds that the idea behind the grid is to design learning games that can be competitive and educational. In addition, Huskey believes that his idea can be a culture-changing device. "I remember going to basketball and football games when I was younger. I kept thinking to myself, 'Why can't people get excited like this over an academic-based game?' That, he says, is what motivated him to design the metrigrid. Husky first began developing the system in-depth in 1984 and in 1990 earned a copyright on the concept.